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Review JN086: Mega Evolution VS Kyodaimax

Alola said:
PokeAni please - let Sirfetch'd shine before it's forcibly retired to Oak's corral to continue to do nothing. That's all I ask.
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Agreed, Sirfetch'd needs some time to shine, Lucario and Pikachu are getting too much focus I feel

Alola said:
Lucario learning Steel Beam was interesting though - it really is a sucker for pain in its battles.
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Steel Beam, very nice
 
Ash's Quick Attack tactic was interesting to say the least. I also like that Focus Energy move that Lucario did to mess up Machamp.

I wonder if taking advantage of Dynamax's weaknesses will be a plot point in the future. I mean if you can dodge/weather dynamax for a time, then you can basically can force your opponent into a corner.

Sirfetch'd :cry:
 
Really? Really?! REALLY?! Half a year of waiting for Sirfetch'd to do anything other than be a glorified letter opener, and all it does is lose?! Meanwhile Lucario takes a majority of the wins two times in a row! This anime has never had me this frustrated before. Christ, this battle was awful.
 
Eitarou said:
Really? Really?! REALLY?! Half a year of waiting for Sirfetch'd to do anything other than be a glorified letter opener, and all it does is lose?! Meanwhile Lucario takes a majority of the wins two times in a row! This anime has never had me this frustrated before. Christ, this battle was awful.
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I personally liked it. Sure Sirfetch'd not getting a win stings, but not even nearly enough to ruin the overall enjoyment.
 
BigDocFan said:
Agreed, Sirfetch'd needs some time to shine, Lucario and Pikachu are getting too much focus I feel
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I was very disappointed the moment I realized what was going to happen, what with that Night Clash and Sky Attack clash...but then they subverted my double knockout expectations and it just got knocked out again, by the same Pokémon who defeated it last time; interestingly, not even an evolution could help. This battle really should have been Sirfetch'd and Lucario's redemption tour where they both triumphed over their original opponents from when Ash battled Bea the first time; Pikachu did not need a win here, especially with all the focus he has received in Journeys. Lucario got to and defeated Machamp with Mega Evolution (after tanking a ridiculous amount of moves), but the Pokémon with an actual shield & parrying capabilities went down first out of all three of Ash's Pokémon?

I did really like Brutal Swing's long distance application and Hawlucha's dodge of it, though.
 
I would have written the battle like this:
  • Lucario and Machamp continue their little skirmish before Ash returns it for Sirfetch'd as he did.
  • And, as it happened, Sirfetch'd prompts Bea to recall Machamp.
  • Sirfetch'd Vs. Hawlucha, Sirfetch'd wins albeit barely; while his newly developed swordsmanship and shield usage gives Hawlucha pause, the luchador still hits hard with its Flying-type moves.
  • Sirfetch'd Vs. Grapploct, Grapploct wins. An exhausted Sirfetch'd is struggling to repel Grapploct's multi-appendage attacks, with the Jujitsu Pokémon winning after forcibly disarming Sirfetch'd and striking with Close Combat.
  • Pikachu Vs. Grapploct, double knock out. Pikachu has a stake in this too, due to losing to Grapploct before; Ash doesn't stupidly send Pikachu in close range to be Octolocked and CC's defense drops take their toll on Grapploct.
  • Lucario Vs. Machamp, Lucario wins because plot.
This way, Sirfetch'd gets to touch gloves with all three of Bea's Pokémon, get a win, and enjoy notable screen time. Lucario doesn't hog the KOes, and Pikachu gets the obligatory event of doing something (that Gengar or Dracovish could have done instead).
 
Taking a look at the Serebii stills (Will hunt subs after work), it looks like Sirfetch'd had a good showing against Machamp but Hawlucha was just a natural check. It looks like a take on last battle's Gengar versus Luxray (who he was good against ) and Rotom (who he was not), just with less time to emphasize the former.
 
What an epic battle episode. Only complain is Sirfarfetch goes down so easily without any sense. While the rest of them, it just brilliant also Ash's Lucario is the OP of all OP trump card in this series beating Grapploct and Machamp (Even in his Gigantamax form). Wondering who will be next opponent, Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia? We may never know, until after the Winter special Arc that promoting the remake of Diamond and Pearl.

Overall rating: B+
 
I realy wanted Sirfetch'd to have it's revanche against Hawlucha. Now he's the only one of Ash Pokémon who fought Bea without a knock-out under its belt. At least he got a good hit on Machamp. But still...
 
While Pikachu and Sirfetch'd did have skin in this rivalry too, it bothers me that Ash once again didn't bother using his perfectly decent Flying type against a proficient Fighting specialist. That's three times now that Dragonite has inexplicably been passed over vs Bea despite soloing Korrina in their battle.

As I thought, Sirfetch'd got boned. If I wrote this series it would have been the only Fighting type on Ash's team. Sirfetch'd could have had some real potential if it weren't the teammate of something like Lucario. At least Gengar wasn't the fall guy for the one millionth time though...
 
Fine with Lucario getting two wins - it was his time to shine, just wish Sirfetch’d got to beat Hawlucha rather than Pikachu - The battle did seem a little rushed at first, but we did have last week so I guess it’s okay – final battle was pretty neat but I can understand scepticism over how exciting Dynamax battles can really be.

I was thinking before how we never really get to see any Lucario using Steel type attacks - and wouldn’t you know - Steel Beam! Pretty cool!
 
FinnishPokéFan92 said:
The best stuff happens at the end, though.
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Unless you’re invested in literally any Pokémon not named Lucario or Pikachu.
It’s fine and dandy enjoying the battle yourself, but it’s weird to defend one Pokémon’s rivalry remaining unresolved while the other gets two wins.

If Lucario lost to its opponents instead of Sirfetch'd people would be rioting. Pikachu really wasn’t needed here. Sure, there’s a cool finisher and that’s neat, but that doesn’t really excuse JN regularly mistreating half of Ash's team.

I'll probably give this episode a watch and was fully prepared for Sirfetch'd losing again, but narrative wise I don’t really have any more hopes with the battles not involving Pikachu and Lucario.
 
PkmnTrainerV said:
Unless you’re invested in literally any Pokémon not named Lucario or Pikachu.
It’s fine and dandy enjoying the battle yourself, but it’s weird to defend one Pokémon’s rivalry remaining unresolved while the other gets two wins.

If Lucario lost to its opponents instead of Sirfetch'd people would be rioting. Pikachu really wasn’t needed here. Sure, there’s a cool finisher and that’s neat, but that doesn’t really excuse JN regularly mistreating half of Ash's team.

I'll probably give this episode a watch and was fully prepared for Sirfetch'd losing again, but narrative wise I don’t really have any more hopes with the battles not involving Pikachu and Lucario.
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I don't think there really was any sort of rivalry between the two. I personally won't judge the otherwise awesome episode too harshly for one small flaw. I still enjoyed it as a whole.
 
Sirfetched and Hawlucha had no rivalry whatsoever they battled once and that's it but it would've been nice to see the duck come out in top this go around. Losing twice to the same Pokémon even after a evolution AND with no battle for months is a special kind of lack of self awareness I don't think a writer should even be capable of
 
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